Bid to cut tax breaks for Accord skating center messy

ACCORD — Ulster County's job creation agency is considering scaling back future tax breaks to a business owned by the chair of the county Legislature for failing to hit job targets.

Michael Novinson

ACCORD — Ulster County's job creation agency is considering scaling back future tax breaks to a business owned by the chair of the county Legislature for failing to hit job targets.

Terry and Len Bernardo's Skate Time 209 has come under the Industrial Development Agency's microscope for projecting the equivalent of 37 full-time jobs but generating only nine. The roller skating center and skateboard park has received nearly $160,000 in property and sales tax breaks since 2005. It's slated to receive another $35,000 in breaks between 2013 and 2016.

The agency will discuss slashing Skate Time's future benefits by either 27.5 percent or 38 percent at its October meeting.

Skate Time is one of nine projects cited for insufficient job creation. Four of those nine are being targeted for scaled-back tax incentives. This month, the Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton received a $20,000 reduction in its future tax breaks.

But given the political connections of the key players, no agreement has come under more scrutiny than the one between the agency and Skate Time 209.

Terry Bernardo, a Republican, became chair of the county Legislature this year. She has feuded with County Executive Mike Hein, a Democrat. Len Bernardo ran unsuccessfully against Hein for county executive in 2008. Current IDA board Chairman Dave O'Halloran managed Bernardo's campaign.

Skate Time's job creation became an issue in the 2008 campaign. Then-IDA member March Gallagher brought the issue to the forefront. She now works as Hein's economic development director.

O'Halloran is the head of the Town of Rochester's GOP committee. Terry Bernardo is the town's sole legislator.

As the majority party, Republicans are also responsible for appointing five of the IDA's seven board members. Despite receiving tax breaks from the agency, Terry Bernardo has voted on IDA board members.

Bernardo said she'd err on the side of caution when it comes to future IDA-related votes.

Hein believes political connections are the main reason the Bernardos have gotten away with underperforming for this long.

"They made a promise and didn't deliver," Hein said. "I'm troubled by the fact she didn't return that money back to the taxpayers voluntarily."

The Bernardos have said their payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement isn't linked to creating a certain number of jobs.

"For any officer of the IDA to assert that my client breached any obligation is untrue and may warrant civil action," wrote attorney Langdon Chapman in 2008. Chapman is now the Legislature's lead attorney.

They say the issue arises whenever political enemies are looking to score points.

"They're looking to throw stones at me," Terry Bernardo said.

Skate Time's agreement predates the IDA's adoption of an enforcement policy, while its contract contains no job figures.

Some IDA board members are wary of rescinding tax breaks for projects approved before the compliance policy.

"We really don't have too much power to do much about (the older projects)," said IDA board member John Morrow.